


At the Start

by hybryd0



Category: Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Gen, Shelby cameos briefly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 17:04:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9195410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hybryd0/pseuds/hybryd0
Summary: Chase knew nothing would ever be the same after he bonded to the black energem, but he never imagined that helping a caveman acclimate to the modern world would be on his list of experiences.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PockySquirrel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PockySquirrel/gifts).



> I took some creative license with everything up to and including the small amount of medical jargon. I really did try to research but it's probably still inaccurate. I think it's a shame the show didn't give us more about the time before the first episode, but that's what fic is for, so here's my take on a little piece of it. Enjoy!

Chase whistled to his music as he strolled into the Dino Lab, the underground cave that served as base of operations for him and the others he worked with. It was located under the Amber Beach Dinosaur Museum and had several hidden entrances and a winding cave system that went deep underneath. The Lab itself was brightly lit and had a multitude of scientific equipment in varying stages of completion, like the station where his energem rested to charge the Dino Chargers that Ms. Morgan, the owner of the lab, was working on.

What really interested Chase, however, was the space blocked off by the privacy partition. Behind it was a cot, some medical equipment, and a young man who was a caveman. A caveman had been pretty much the last thing they’d expected to find when searching for energems. It didn’t seem real even after using the Dino Blaze Charger to thaw him out. Keeper, the alien in charge of protecting the energems, seemed to think the energem would’ve kept the young man alive and protected him from any kind of natural death, including aging. Ms. Morgan was skeptical.

Ms. Morgan looked up and gave him an unimpressed look. “This isn’t a concert hall, Chase. Please keep the noise to a minimum.”

“Sorry, Ms. Morgan,” Chase said without a hint of remorse. “Has there been any change?”

“No,” Ms. Morgan replied. “And I don’t suspect there will be.”

“That’s a shame. It sure would’ve been cool to meet a real caveman,” Chase said. “Didn’t Keeper say he’s still bonded to the blue energem, though? Does that mean there won’t be a blue ranger without him?”

“Unfortunately, that seems to be the case,” Ms. Morgan said. “For now you’re the only ranger, which means you’re still the only defense against Fury finding the other energems first.”

Chase frowned. He’d always thought one of the best things about being a ranger would be to have a whole team to fight beside. It was definitely cool being a power ranger and he never could have guessed he’d have the honor but... he was definitely a little lonely.

“Do not despair.” Chase nearly jumped out of his skin as Keeper seemed to appear out of nowhere beside him. He still wasn’t used to the alien’s ninja-like skills. “The blue energem would not let it’s chosen die so easily.”

“With all due respect, Keeper, he’s been frozen for around one hundred thousand years. It’s simply illogical to believe there’s a chance he’ll wake up,” Ms. Morgan said. “Is there a way to sever the bond?”

“The chosen must consent to such an act,” Keeper said. “You must have patience. He will wake up when his body and mind are ready.”

Then, with the timing that seemed like it was straight out of a movie, Ms. Morgan’s computer chimed. She looked at the screen and her eyebrows sky rocketted. “I don’t believe it.”

“What is it?” Chase asked, stepping closer with hope starting to bloom in his chest.

“His brainwaves have altered,” Ms. Morgan said. She typed something into the computer. “The EEG has shown nearly flatline since you unfroze him, but now there’s heightened activity.”

“He’s waking up?”

Ms. Morgan looked baffled. “It appears so. He’s at the stage typically associated with deep, dreamless sleep. This is the stage where the body best heals and rejuvenates itself.”

“When will he wake up?” Chase asked eagerly.

“It’s hard to say,” Ms. Morgan replied, continuing to monitor her machines. “His brainwaves still have to pick up quite a bit, but it could be anytime now. This whole situation is unprecedented; there’s no way to predict anything.”

Keeper motioned toward the privacy partition with his staff as if he needed to emphasize the point he was about to make.. “I believe the better question is how do we prepare for his awakening?”

And then Keeper walked away and disappeared into a cloud of red mist. Chase wondered where exactly the alien went and if he got enjoyment out of dropping little wisdom bombs and then walking away. It wasn’t the first time he’d done it and Chase doubted it would be the last.

“He does have a point,” Ms. Morgan said. “Regardless of if his body is prepared to awaken there’s little chance his mind will be.”

“How do we prepare a caveman for the modern world?”

Silence permeated the lab as they both contemplated the question. Chase was reminded of nineties movie where a caveman had woken up in modern times and his adventures. That had been a ridiculous comedy and never in his life had he thought it could become a reality.

Pushing that bit of silliness to the side, Chase tried to put himself into the caveman’s shoes. There were so many things about modern times that could be confusing and terrifying. Cars, TVs, phones, even just the overhead lights would seem like magic or something, whatever cavemen believe in.

What they needed was something more familiar. If he woke up in a setting that seemed a little more like what he was used to maybe it wouldn’t be as much of a shock. They could then work up to introducing him to the modern world.

Chase passed the idea off to Kendall, who looked a little surprised that he’d come up with an idea that was actually workable. He tried not to be offended - he did play up being a joker and a bit of slacker.

“This room is part of a larger cave system. We could always situate him in a cave away from here,” Kendall said, clearly thinking out loud and not really talking to him. “That’s actually a really good idea, Chase.”

“Don’t sound so surprised, I have them sometimes.”

Kendall gave him a sharp look, like she got when she was inspecting something particularly interesting. “So it seems.”

Chase let that go without comment.

“We’ll have to wait until he’s closer to actually waking up. For now he’ll stay here so I can still observe him,” Kendall explained , turning her attention back to the readings. “Don’t you have work to be doing?”

“Yes ma’am,” Chase said, snapping off a sloppy salute that had her rolling her eyes.

Chase shot the privacy partition one more look before he left the lab.

XxXxX

Chase took it upon himself to find the perfect cave to move the caveman to before he woke up. He actually found that he enjoyed exploring the tunnels and myriad of caves that were even more expansive than he’d originally expected. There were some beautiful formations too and he made sure to take some pictures to post to his facebook for his mum and sister to see.

He almost forgot what he was even doing as he just enjoyed the adventure, but then he found the perfect cave. It reminded him a lot of the cave they’d found their guest in to begin with. It was moderately sized with a couple of stalagmites and a single stalactite. It was just far enough away from the lab to give the caveman privacy and seclude him from things that may be confusing, but still close enough they could quickly get to him if they needed to do so.

Taking off the pack Chase had brought with him he unrolled the faux fur blanket he’d bought and laid it out against the far wall behind the two stalagmites to create a sense of privacy. He laid out a second blanket for a cover.

In the center of the room he set up an area for a campfire using stones and bits of lumber and leaves. He then left the tools to light the fire beside it. He frowned a little and thought he’d may try and find a stump or something for a seat, although he found it somewhat doubtful the caveman would care.

He laid out some things for a torch in case their guest wanted to explore the surrounding caves. They’d have to figure out some way to discourage him from going too near the lab before they could properly start preparing him for it.

And it was for that reason that he had been setting up webcams throughout all the tunnels and caves he explored. They’d debated the issue quite fiercely, but in the end it was Kendall’s logic of it being about protecting themselves and their guest, not spying, that Chase had conceded to in the end. If the caveman got hurt or lost in the caves they’d have no way of knowing without the cameras. Chase would remove the one in the caveman’s room after the man woke up.

With all of that done it became a waiting game.

XxXxX

It was only a few days later that Chase found himself helping move the caveman into what would be his room, at least for the time being. The man was still deeply asleep, but Kendall said the EEG reading indicated he was closer to waking up than ever before. They’d lose the EEG and so the ability to track of his brainwaves, but with the webcam monitoring the room they’d still know as soon as the man got up.

With the news that his potential teammate could wake up at any moment, Chase was even more distracted than ever as he worked in the cafe. He was pretty sure that Shelby wanted to roast him with the looks she was giving him. He felt bad because he knew she was taking the brunt of the customers’ anger, but at the same time he just couldn’t focus.

He kept wondering about minor things. What were the color of the man’s eyes? What would he look like when, if, he smiled? What would the man’s voice sound like? Would he even be able to speak?

There were so many questions floating in his head and he knew they were so close to getting answers.

“Chase!”

He startled and looked from where he’d been flipping burgers on autopilot. He took in the angry look on Shelby’s face and winced. “Uh, sorry?”

“Look, you’ve remade this order twice now and you’re still getting it wrong,” Shelby said. “Three strikes you're out, mate.”

Chase frowned. The venom was a little unnecessary. “Whatever you say, Shelly.”

“Whatever, just get the order right this time.”

Chase watched her storm out of the kitchen and flipped one of the burger patties a little too hard. It didn’t come back. Looking up Chase didn’t see it stuck to the ceiling.

Bemused, Chase shrugged and started to go back to what he was doing when his comm beeped. He turned to grab Henry, one of the other employees, and asked him to take over. The boy looked annoyed but did it without saying anything.

Chase hurried to the stock room and pulled out is comm. “What’s up?”

Kendall’s face appeared on the screen. “Our guest is waking up.”

“I’ll be right there.” Making sure no one was around to see him, Chase hurried out of the back exit and to the entrance to the base that was hidden in the mouth of a giant t-rex head. Of the number of entrances and exits to the base, that was definitely his favorite one to use. It was a giant slide, what wasn’t to love about it?

In the lab Chase found Kendall watching a screen that showed the caveman sitting up and looking around. There wasn’t any sound, but he could see the man’s mouth moving. His eyes were wide as saucers and it was clear that he was not only extremely confused, but terrified as well.

Apparently having him wake up in a cave was not quite as effective as they’d hoped, but it was still better than having him in the lab.

“I’ve prepared a meal for him that should be suitable for his dietary needs. He may not be able to understand us, but surely he could understand being offered food,” Kendall said. “I’ll stay here and observe.”

“Right, okay.”

“Just try not to be threatening. Slow movements, stay in his line of sight.”

Chase nodded and went over to the tray of food. It was piled high with fruits, nuts, and cooked meats of various kinds along with a leather jug filled with water. There was a good chance none of it was anything like what had been around thousands of years ago, but it was as close as they were going to get.

The walk to his destination seemed to be much shorter than the last time he’d been there only a few days prior. He guessed that probably had something to do with anticipation, it was, after all, possible that the man he was going to meet was going to be his new teammate.

He curbed some of his excitement and took a deep breath before slowly entering the cave. The caveman noticed him immediately, hardwired for survival in a way that made him acutely aware of his surroundings. The man snatched up the branch Chase had left to be used for a torch and held it up threateningly.

“Whoa, it’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you,” Chase said as soothingly as he could. He hoped that if the caveman couldn’t understand him at least the tone might convey his message.

The caveman stayed in his defensive stance, but his eyes flickered to the tray of food in Chase’s hands. Almost on cue the man’s stomach grumbled.

Chase slowly offered the tray out. “This is for you.”

The caveman simply stared. Chase took a cautious step forward and froze immediately at a warning growl. Changing tactics he slowly bent down and placed the tray of food on the floor, then backed away just as slowly with his hands up in what he hoped was a universal gesture even back then for “mean no harm”.

The other man watched him with sharp eyes even as he slowly crept up to the tray. He picked up what looked like a piece of chicken and sniffed it before shoving the whole thing in his mouth. His eyes lit up and he hummed in appreciation before he started to tear into the food.

Chase grinned as he watched. Apparently food really was the way to a man’s heart, even a caveman.

As the caveman slowed down to popping grapes in his mouth one at a time, Chase took his chance for the next step. He stayed where he was, not wanting to put the man back on the defensive.

“I’m Chase,” he said, drawing the caveman’s attention to him. He pointed to himself and said his name and then pointed at the caveman. “You?”

The caveman cocked his head curiously and popped another grape into his mouth.

Chase patiently repeated his previous motions. He did it a couple more times before the caveman’s face suddenly lit up.

The man pointed to himself. “Koda.”

“Koda,” Chase repeated and the other man nodded, pushing the last grape into his mouth. “Nice to meet you, Koda.”

Koda cocked his head again, a confused smile on his face. Clearly they’d reached the end of their conversational abilities.

Chase decided to leave while he was ahead. On his walk back he thought about how they were going to keep Koda out of the lab. 

“Nice work,” Kendall said when he re-entered the lab.

“No sweat, I can charm anyone, even a caveman,” Chase replied cockily. At the flat look that got him he added. “I got us a name - Koda.”

“Hmm, we may have a problem if he doesn’t understand English. I’d hoped maybe the power would act as a translator or something.”

“Maybe it still will? We can ask Keeper the next time he decides to ninja in here,” Chase said. “Does it ever bother you the way he just appears and disappears without any warning?”

“It took some getting used to,” Kendall said wryly.

Chase snorted, but didn’t comment on that. They had more important things to discuss.

“Do you think we have to worry about him exploring? He seemed pretty jumpy just being in that room.”

“Well, if the communication issue resolves itself we might not have anything to worry about. We can just tell him to stay put for his own good,” Kendall reasoned. “If not we may have to resort to sound triggered by motion sensors to keep him in place.”

“I don’t like the idea of scaring him anymore than he already is.”

“Me either, but our options are limited.”

XxXxX

The pattern continued for the next few days. Chase would come to the base three times a day and take food to Koda. Each time he went he would have a one-sided conversation, as Keeper had suggested. Koda always listened with that cute little curious tilt of his head. It was endlessly endearing.

“Hello Koda,” Chase said as he entered the cave. It was his standard greeting.

“Hello Chase.”

Chase leaned down to put the tray of food and water on the floor and nearly dropped it when he realized what Koda said. His head snapped up so fast his neck twinged. Koda’s face was lit up with the biggest beaming smile.

“You understand me?” Chase asked, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice, or off his face.

“Yes.”

Chase grinned and set the tray down. “That’s great! Mind if I sit with you this time?”

“Yes please, I have many, uh, asks?” Koda said as he picked up the tray and moved over to the fire. 

Chase moved over with him and sat down. “Questions?”

“Ah yes, questions. It not all make sense. Many words.”

“No worries, I’m here to help.”

Koda took a bite of the stew Chase had prepared. HIs mouth was still full when he asked, “Where here?”

“Before I answer that, can I ask you a question?”

Koda nodded, happily chewing his food.

“What do you remember before waking here?”

The smile dropped off Koda’s face. Chase felt bad for asking but it would help him try to explain everything, or at least he hoped it would.

“It was cold night. We all gather in cave to stay warm. I was making marks to tell others cave belong to tribe. Found strange blue rock. Oh! Where blue rock?”

Chase held out a hand to calm him. “It’s safe, I promise. After this I’ll go get it for you, yeah?”

Koda looked a little distressed and Chase wondered if that had something to do with the same protective instinct he had since he’d bonded with his own energem. It had been hard to leave it in the charging station at first and the thought of being parted with it for too long made him anxious. Keeper had said it was all part of the bond to make sure the chosen protected their energems.

“Taku start calling for help. I go to him and see, uhhh…” Here Koda stopped and made a gesture with his fingers by his mouth as if they were two big teeth.

“Oh, we call those sabertooth tigers,” Chase said.

Koda blinked and frowned then continued. “Saber cat attacking Taku. I tackle saber cat away but go over cliff. Blue rock shine bright light. Then cold, very cold. Then here.” The distressed look came back over him. “Where Taku?”

Chase bit his lip. Oh boy. He didn’t even need to know who Taku was to Koda to know it was going to be a very hard conversation to have. How exactly did he tell Koda that everyone he knew and loved was centuries past being dead and gone?

“I’m sorry, Koda. You’ve been frozen for a very long time,” Chase started, but he had to stop. They were the hardest words he’d ever had to say to anyone.

“I not understand.”

“You’ve been frozen for almost a hundred thousand years. Normal humans don’t live that long.”

It took a moment for what he’d said to fully register in Koda’s mind and Chase could see the very second it did. Koda’s face crumpled and he scrambled backwards mumbling in a language Chase didn’t know. Chase wanted to comfort him, but he didn’t think they were on those terms yet and instead left him to mourn in privacy.

XxXxX

The next couple of weeks passed slowly as Koda mourned the loss of everyone and everything he ever knew. Chase brought him his meals and tried to make small talk, but Koda stayed quiet and distant. Chase didn’t push it anymore than that, he was just glad he didn’t have to actually worry about Koda not eating, though he was eating less; there was more food left on the tray each meal than there had been before.

It was on the third week that Koda invited Chase to sit with him again. He still looked pale, but there was some light coming back into his eyes.

“Tell me about blue rock, uh, please?”

“Okay, sure,” Chase agreed, settling himself on one of the logs he’d brought in to put around the fire. “It’s called an energem and it’s one of ten. The people I’m with, we’re trying to find the other eight to keep them from falling into the wrong hands.”

“En-er-gem,” Koda said, slowly testing out the word. He looked proud of himself when he got it right and Chase felt his heart flutter a little. “What do?”

“They’re very powerful objects, even separately, but together they’re even more so,” Chase said. “Keeper, that’s the being that protects them, says they’re the most powerful objects in existence.”

Koda seemed to absorb those words as he slowly munched on his meal. Chase could almost see him learning the new words, making connections to meanings and coming to an understanding. It was the blue energem at work, making sure that all the chosen could communicate with each other no matter what. Chase was endlessly thankful for it.

“So, blue en-er-gem choose me to protect?” Koda asked.

“Yes, but if you don’t want to, Keeper says he can break the bond with your permission,” Chase explained , even though he didn’t really want to.

“No,” Koda said sharply. “Energem choose Koda.”

“Okay mate, easy. Just giving you your options, yeah?” Koda looked mollified at that and settled back down. “When you’re done eating do you want to go meet the rest of the team?”

“There more chosen?”

Chase shook his head. “Just me and you for now, bro.”

“What bro?”

Chase laughed a little. “It’s just a shortened version of brother. It’s what we call slang.”

“Oh,” Koda said softly. Chase could see him deep in thought, clearly processing more than just the slang term. He suddenly brightened again and gave Chase a beaming smile. “That mean energems make us brothers? Like tribe?”

“I, uh, well, suppose you could see it that way,” Chase agreed falteringly. Clearly he was going to have to be more prepared for Koda’s mind to make connections he wouldn’t have thought of first.

“That not so bad,” Koda said.

XxXxX

Introducing Koda to modern things was by and large mostly an amusing yet never ending task. The caveman had an innate curiosity, but was still afraid of everything at first. Things that moved or made sounds were particularly hard for Koda to handle even when Chase tried to prepare him for them. He wasn’t sure how they were going to prepare Koda for going outside, which was going to make it difficult for Koda to perform any ranger duties when they were needed. With Fury out there actively hunting it was only a question of when they would need to act. Chase was no match for Fury by himself, he would need Koda to help him.

“You want to take him for a walk?” Kendall asked with a look of utmost incredulousness on her face. “He’s not a dog.”

Chase made a face at her. “I know he’s not a dog, but he has to go outside at some point.”

“I’m not sure he’s ready to see cars. I predict a stimulus overload,” Kendall replied.

“Well we can’t very well wait until we need him for ranger duties,” Chase pointed out.

“I’m still not entirely convinced he should be an acting ranger,” Kendall said. “What if something scares him in the middle of battle? He could be more of a liability.”

“I can’t do this by myself,” Chase said. “Listen, we won’t go far, just right around the museum. Maybe go out to the parking lot and introduce him to cars that aren’t running.”

Kendall sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Just ask him before you go dragging him outside.”

XxXxX

Koda seemed really happy to be outside in the sunlight and fresh air, even turning his face up to the sun as if to absorb some of its warmth. Some color seemed to come back to his skin and he looked around at everything with eager curiosity. Even introducing him to “sleeping metal creatures”, as Koda dubbed them, went better than expected.

Everything was alright up until a school bus pulled into the parking lot. Koda’s initial reaction had been to take several large steps back and he acted like he was going to arm himself with a spear, but Chase had wisely instructed him to leave it behind. The last thing he needed was for Koda to be arrested or something.

“Koda, it’s okay, that’s--”

“There young inside!” Koda exclaimed, fear for himself turning to fear for the innocent.

Before Chase could stop him Koda grabbed the handicap sign that someone had hit and loosened from its concrete bedding. He then threw it, chunks of concrete still attached to the bottom, like a spear right into the side of the bus. The metal crumpled under the impact and there were shouts of fear from inside the bus.

“Spit them out, monster!”

Chase grabbed Koda then and gave him a not so gentle shove in the opposite direction. His heart was in his throat as one of the museum security guards made a beeline towards them. How exactly was he going to talk his way out it?

“Stop!” The security guard demanded. Chase groaned as he recognized the man. Vern Mills was on the older side, his hair more silver than brown, and he was a new hire that had it out for Chase for no conceivable reason.

Chase turned toward him and put on his most charming smile. “Sorry about that, mate. Koda here isn’t quite used to modern things yet.”

“You expect me to believe that?” Mills asked dubiously, eyebrow arching up his forehead.

“He’s a guest of Ms. Morgan,” Chase said. “She asked me to show Koda around. You can call her if you want.”

It was really the last thing Chase wanted. He was going to be in so much trouble for letting something like this happen.

XxXxX

There was no talking Koda into venturing outside after the bus incident.

Chase felt like a complete failure.

XxXxX

Chase froze in surprise as the monster known as Fury appeared in front of him. He’d only faced Fury once before and he’d only gotten away by outsmarting the alien and burying him in a pile of boulders. He wasn’t sure how he was going to do it a second time.

“We meet again, Black Ranger,” Fury said. “You won’t get away so easily this time.”

“Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you,” Chase shot back.

“Ha! You couldn’t defeat me last time, what makes you think it will be any different this time?” Fury taunted.

“Because I’ve got brains and the power of an energem on my side and you don’t have either,” Chase said. He morphed and fell into a fighting stance with his dino saber out. He wasn’t much of a swordsman, but he needed it to fight Fury.

“That energem will be mine,” Fury said. “And then I’ll take the other one you stole from me.”

“Can’t steal what was never yours,” Chase retorted.

“Enough talk!”

Fury charged forward, swinging his sword down. Chase raised his saber to block and grunted as Fury kicked him square in the chest. He rolled back with the momentum of the hit and came up with a swipe at Fury’s chest. The monster caught him by the wrist and spun around, flinging Chase through the air to smack into a tree.

“Pathetic,” Fury said, cackling as he approached where Chase had fallen. “Just hand over the energem so we can end this ridiculous game. I’ll make your death swift.”

“Over my dead body,” Chase shot back as he got to his feet.

“That can be arranged,” Fury retorted and charged him.

Chase dove to the side and heard Fury run into the same tree he’d just so violently met. There was an ominous cracking sound and a deep growl from Fury. He hoped making Fury angrier would benefit him.

“I’m going to tear you apart and sharpen my sword on your bones, maybe not even in that order!”

Chase was still in a crouch from his dive and just barely got his saber up in time to block Fury’s downward swing. The alien had put all his strength behind it and the angle put him at a disadvantage. He was knocked onto his back.

“You’re a disgrace to the name Power Ranger,” Fury sneered. “I’ve watched team after team come and go and you’re not worth any of those that came before you.”

Chase grunted as Fury forced their locked weapons down so that one of the curved edges was resting just below his chin. He wasn’t prepared for Fury to drop a knee right on his chest and it knocked the breath right out of him. He struggled as Fury tried to force the blade down, knowing that if he slipped even just a little bit Fury would cut his throat open.

He wasn’t prepared for the sound of a weapon discharging followed closely by Fury’s shout of pain and spray of sparks. Fury twisted around to face the source, but his large body blocked Chase’s line of sight.

“Who dares attack me?” Fury demanded.

“Koda dare! Get away from my friend.”

Chase’s heart leapt into his throat. “Koda no, get back!”

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me. You’re the caveman!” Fury laughed and Chase tried to take advantage of his distraction, taking one hand off his saber to try and punch Fury, but the alien caught his wrist in a vice-like grip. “I’ve snuffed out knights, what can you possibly do to me?”

“This.”

And suddenly Koda was morphing into the Blue Dino Charge Ranger for the first time. Chase was elated because he was no longer the only ranger around. Together they stood a much better chance against Fury.

That really got Fury’s attention. Chase took the opening in Fury’s defenses and pulled his dino morpher blaster. Before Fury could react, Chase released three point blank shots and Fury let him go to roll away in his own bid for self preservation.

“I’ll be back, Rangers, and next time I’ll be leaving with those energems!” Fury declared, swinging his sword before disappearing in a hail of sparks. 

Chase took a couple of deep breaths, but before he could try to get up Koda was there with a hand outstretched to him. He grabbed Koda’s hand, marveling at the strength of the grip, and got to his feet with Koda’s help. His new teammate put a steadying hand on his shoulder as he stumbled just a little.

“Thanks for the save, mate. I thought I was really done for there,” Chase said.

“You and Kendall new tribe now. I protect tribe,” Koda said as if it was really that simple - and maybe to him it was. Chase wasn’t sure he’d be able to so easily accept waking up in a time where everything was scary and no one he knew was around, or even still alive.

“And we’ll protect you,” Chase replied. “I’ll help you adjust and I think the first course of action is to introduce you to a Bronto Burger.”

“What Bronto Burger?”

“Don’t worry, mate, you’re in for a real treat.”


End file.
